Networks and distributed storage allow data and storage space to be shared between devices located anywhere a connection is available. These implementations may range from a single machine offering a shared drive over a home network to an enterprise-class cloud storage array with multiple copies of data distributed throughout the world. Larger implementations may incorporate Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices, Storage Area Network (SAN) devices, and other configurations of storage elements and controllers in order to provide data and manage its flow.
These storage implementations may include storage technologies such as Redundant Arrays of Independent Disks (RAID). RAID is a storage technology that is used in many conventional storage implementations. RAID may include different storage configurations, which are commonly referred to as RAID levels. RAID levels may be associated with different data redundancy and/or error correction techniques. For example, some conventional RAID levels and their associated data protection schemes include RAID 1 (mirroring), RAID 5 (striping with parity), and RAID 6 (striping with double parity). In some storage implementations, conventional RAID levels may use random or pseudo random placement of data, using techniques such as declustered RAID.
Storage technologies, such as the RAID storage technology described above, may organize data in a storage array using metadata. The metadata describes placement of the data in the storage array so that the data can be located and accessed. However, in some instances, the metadata may be lost or corrupted. Without the metadata to describe the placement of the data, the data in the storage array may appear random and without any logical ordering. Accordingly, the loss of the metadata causes the data stored in the storage array to be unusable for storage operations.
Conventional storage systems may not be able to recover the data in the storage array unless a backup of the metadata is available. If a backup is not available, the data in the storage array may be unrecoverable to these conventional storage systems. Thus, a need exists for systems and techniques to recover the metadata corresponding to a storage array.